


come back to me (because without you there’s no me anymore)

by mon_k



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, M/M, Non-Linear Narrative, Open Ending, War AU, ambiguous ending, could be seen as angst with happy ending, lapslock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-24 09:14:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14352468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mon_k/pseuds/mon_k
Summary: taeyong didn’t respond, he sat on the porch staring into the driveway. hoping he had missed something there and that this was all a big fat joke.(or: war explodes, youngho gets enlisted and taeyong waits for him to come back.)





	come back to me (because without you there’s no me anymore)

**Author's Note:**

> hey, it’s sof. a huge thanks to [lu](https://jahehyung.tumblr.com/) for betaing this.
> 
> this thing was inspired by a work by the talented [nico](http://lraindropsandrosesl.tumblr.com). also there is some angst in my life right now that i need to somehow get out of my system. 
> 
> tittle from the song sorry by the rose.

the house felt cold. crumbling. fading. it had an aggravatingly lonely vibe. it was too big for him.

once it had been full of love.

once people bustled in and out, filling the eyes of both men with hope. 

once his laughter resonated through all the bright rooms, now filled to the brim with taeyong’s demons and lurking shadows. 

 

 

*

 

 

the war had exploded like a firework, lighting up the dark sky.

no one knew it was coming until it blew up above everyone’s faces. at first, the people had hope. they believed everything was going to pass quickly, that it was just a small conflict, easily solved. 

god, were they wrong. 

it was one year into battle when the war started eating up all the countries in its way, leaving behind only a trail of despair and desolation. 

they never thought it would reach their small realities. their bubble of joy and fantasy was bursted before their eyes with a loud pop.

 

 

*

 

 

youngho met him at university. it was the most ordinary way to meet a man that would soon became his forever partner. 

taeyong was oblivious to the fact that youngho was interested in him until they met. smiled. collided. loved.

did they make it to their forever? 

 

 

*

 

 

it was a dull morning when the sound of a phone call reverberated through the hallways. seconds later youngho’s voice followed. “tae, i got it!”

when the latter arrived at the living room where the phone lay, a shiver ran up and down his spine. 

youngho was paler than ever. a single tear rolled down his face. that was the omen for nothing good. 

he hung up and with that two minute phone call, their happiness shattered into a million pieces that taeyong could still not pick up. 

 

 

*

 

 

“tae let’s go.” insisted jaehyun.

taeyong remained quite. 

“it’s time.” added taeil. 

silence. 

it was almost ten months since that second phone call.

the war was still thumping with a fading force. it was a matter of treaties and signatures for it to be finally over. 

but taeyong had ceased to be the happy man he was. he had been reduced to a silent mess.

“taeyong, he wouldn’t want to see you like this.” 

they all knew who doyoung was referring to. still, the man didn’t respond, he sat on the porch staring into the driveway. hoping he had missed something there and that this was all a big fat joke. 

“guys, you go ahead,” he heard jaehyun mutter to the other two men standing by their cars. “i can stay with him.”

 

 

*

 

 

he was sitting there, right there at the porch, when the second phone call came in. 

the man on the other side muttered some formalities and then started blabbering something along the lines of “i am really sorry, Seo Taeyong-ssi”.

once he hung up, all the information started to sink in.

_missing._

_bomb._

_we are sure he is alive._

_good man._

_sorry._

all felt like empty words and each one of them resembled a stab in the guts. 

it hurt. 

taeyong cried himself to sleep that night. the next morning, he woke up hollow. 

 

*

 

the war started and they got married in a small ceremony. 

“anything could happen,” youngho used to say. “let’s live in the present and make sure we are as happy as we can be.”

that was his way of saying “i love you” and “i want to marry you”.

tae gladly accepted. 

 

 

*

 

 

jaehyun cooked dinner and brought it to taeyong. it was warm soup, just like youngho made it. 

god, he missed him.

jae’s heart clenched when he saw his best friends cry dryly, still sitting on the same spot. he couldn't do anything, just merging with the demons slowly bleeding out of taeyong. 

 

 

*

 

 

they moved to the house on a sunny day. their bed hadn’t arrived on time so they had to cuddle in between comforters, pillows and sleeping bags. it didn’t matter. the cold breeze at night didn’t matter to them as long as they had each other.

they didn’t have much.

youngho had a couple of paintings and some music cds.

taeyong had his cookware and a couple of framed photos. 

that was enough to make the then empty house into something they could call home. 

 

 

*

 

 

the war was over. finally. everyone cheered and celebrated. the streets were packed with happy, hopeful people. the battlegrounds were turned into massive graveyards were people who lost a dear relative could go to mourn their loved ones. the countries that lost payed their punishments. peace blew through the air. 

jae, doyoung and taeil came to visit him again in the afternoon. this time though, they found him cooking in the kitchen while signing a familiar song. 

“i got a phone call today,” said taeyong after almost a year of silence. 

the three friends stood frozen by the door. 

“what did they say?” doyoung was the first to cut in. 

“they found him,” answered taeyong between happy tears.

 

after three pair of arms hugged him, taeyong breathed in and out in relief. he had found peace himself. he added:

 

“they are bringing him home.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you to all who sticked around enough to finish this :) kudos, comments and general feedback is truly appreciated.
> 
> feel free to message me in tumblr and/or insta.
> 
>  **update:** you can interpret the ending as you please :)


End file.
